On september 7th and 8th, the annual bloemencorso (flower parade) was held in Zundert. It is the largest dahlia parade in the world. Since its first time in 1936, it has grown, and became more impressive every year. It started as an attempt to revive the Oranjefeesten (Orange celebrations) in honor of the queen. This meaning quickly lost significance, and now it is all about the competition! The small village of almost 8000 inhabitants is busy throughout the year to organize this unique event. Though I had never heard of the bloemencorso before, it was on national news. So what exactly happens?
The participants are 20 different neighborhoods. Every paradewagen (float) in the parade is prepared months before the day to shine. Hundreds of vrijwilligen (volunteers) spend many uren (hours) to weave all dahlias into an amazing kunstwerk (work of art). And then, on the big day, the first Sunday of September, the enormous sculptures are presented to the public. But there can only be one winner… Who won this year? <-Find out!
Atlas: the winner of the Publieksprijs 2014! (Image by Arend at Flickr.com)
The one above, called Atlas, is one of my favorites, and it won the publieksprijs (popular choice award)! Personally, I am not very fond of the paradewagen that won.
When you see these pictures, you probably wonder how this could ever be a failure – a parade so beautiful, impressive, and full of love… At a time it almost looked like it.
In the 1950s, the bloemencorso attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors. That number decreased steadily from the 1970s on, but rose again after 2000. In fact, the organization claimed it received a record number of visitors in 2003. It also becomes more international: last week, the small town was visited by people from as far as the United States, Taiwan, Australia, and Great-Britain! And it can hardly seen as a failure, considering it was added to the list of immaterial cultural heritage of UNESCO in 2012! And still, I had never heard of it before… It shows again, there is much more going on in this small country than one can fathom.
What do you think? Do you know something as impressive as this bloemencorso? Would you make your (long) way to Zundert to see it next year?
http://www.omroepbrabant.nl/corsozundert – If you want to find out muuuuuch more, check out this link on the Corso Zundert! In Dutch, of course ;-).
Some vocabulary:
Dahlia – dahlia (flower)
bloem – flower
corso – parade
paradewagen – float
deelnemers – participants
winnen – to win
prijs – award / prize
hoofdprijs – first prize
strijdlust – belligerence
mooi – beautiful
